Bullying in workplace on the rise

Bullying in workplace on the rise

A middle-aged, senior geologist in Calgary with almost 20 years of experience found herself in a tough situation: Every time she produced great results in her former job, she found her managers taking away responsibilities and eventually let her go -- right before her stocks vested.

The geologist, who didn't want to be identified, considered taking legal action but was reluctant to do so.

"Risk not getting another job because word around town is that you have taken an oil and gas company to court? Who will win?" she asks as she recalls the stress of the situation.

It was one of several ways bullying can play out in the workplace and being on the receiving end of it can cause all sorts of psychological stress, a reluctance to speak out and heightened anxiety.

Workplace bullying takes many forms and Marilynn Balfour, director of career resources for Bowen Workforce Solutions, says it's been on the rise over the past year because of tough economic conditions.

Competition in the office heats up as people get concerned about their job security, emotions run high and people react in different ways.

"If there's abrupt organizational changes, insecure employment, poor relationships between staff and management or lower levels of satisfaction with leadership -- all of those can contribute to an environment that will really fuel the bullying," says Balfour.

The amount of organizational change that's happened in the past year or so -- layoffs, budget cuts, increased workloads -- has all added up to a bullying problem as employees struggled to cope.

Several recent studies have shown that about one in six people are bullied at work during their career, says Balfour. The phenomenon costs Canadian companies billions of dollars annually.

"The costs are indirect, but they are certainly significant," says Balfour.

This week she hosted a seminar series in Calgary on bullying and had to increase the number of sessions due to higher-than-expected demand.

"Fifty per cent of organizations don't do anything about bullying because there's no legislation against it," she says.

There are two broad types of workplace bullies: those who are openly abusive and those who are covert. "In organizations, there is far more covert stuff that happens," she adds.

Removing responsibilities, the "silent treatment," sabotaging work performance, giving people false information, setting them up to fail and starting rumours are among common methods that are used.

Since bullies typically like to control, they often pick targets they view as a threat to their own careers.

"It is so psychologically difficult for the targets to figure out why this is happening to them because they are high achievers . . . and all of a sudden they're being singled out," Balfour says.

It can happen in any rank or position in a company, both upward and downward or between peers. Companies need to do a better job of addressing it head on, but there is still reluctance by employers and workers to deal with the problem.

"What can happen to people that are targets of bullying is that they raise the issue (and) because people don't want to deal with it, they are the ones who end up losing their jobs," says Balfour.

Employers need to educate leaders on how to identify targets of abusive behaviour and be willing to investigate bullying complaints immediately.

She recommends people suffering from a bullying environment to be as professional as possible about it. Keep a log of specific events -- what occurred, when it happened, the frequency of incidents, what their own reaction was and what kind of effect it's having on them.

Documenting it helps present the problem in a professional, factual, unemotional way. That approach demonstrates victims are being logical and objective about the situation.

It's also up to targets of bullying to try to regain control as they deal with the problem.

"If they can change their reactions, that's really helpful because then in that small way they're able to take back control for themselves," says Balfour.

Related Posts

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.